Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation and discrimination that was practised in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. The policy was implemented by the National Party government after it came to power in the 1948 elections, and it classified the population into racial groups - White, Black, Coloured, and Indian - imposing strict legal separation in nearly every aspect of life.
Under apartheid, the white minority controlled political power, land ownership, education, healthcare, and public facilities, while the Black majority and other non-white groups were subjected to systematic discrimination. Laws such as the Group Areas Act, the Pass Laws, the Bantu Education Act, and the Population Registration Act enforced segregation in housing, movement, education, and even marriage.
South Africa's apartheid regime faced sustained internal resistance - notably from the African National Congress (ANC) and figures such as Nelson Mandela - as well as international condemnation and economic sanctions. The system was dismantled in the early 1990s, culminating in the first multiracial democratic elections in April 1994, which brought Nelson Mandela to power as president. While other Southern African countries experienced racial discrimination under colonial or minority rule, apartheid as a formal state policy is uniquely associated with South Africa.
